The present invention relates to improvements in timepieces of the "analog" type wherein one or more hands rotate about the center of the face of the timepiece to point to markings or indicia spaced circumferentially about the face to represent time.
In the typical two-hand configuration, the longer hand rotates at a speed of one revolution per hour and indicates minutes of the hour. The shorter hand rotates at one revolution per every twelve hours and indicates hours of the day. The two hands are therefore driven at different rotational rates.
The typical single-hand timepiece merely omits the faster-rotating hand used to indicate minutes. Both minutes and hours are then measured by the relative position of the single hand to and between the hour markings or indicia on the face of the timepiece. Accurate time measurement is necessarily compromised at the expense of aesthetic value in this device because, in the case of a twelve hour timepiece for example, the minutes of the hour must be distinguished within a 30 degree arc as opposed to a 360 degree arc on the standard two-hand timepiece.
In another single-hand timepiece, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,154, the hand indicates minutes of the hour only. Hours are indicated by a digital counter wheel, whose rotation is indirectly provided by the hand's clocking mechanism. Indicia on the counter is displayed through the face of the timepiece. This design maintains the precision, as to time indication, of the standard two-hand timepiece, but the invention's potential for confusion limits its own design. Specifically, the timepiece is dependent upon the use of indicia of its face indicative of minutes. Otherwise, the digital indication displayed through the face lacks clarity as to the unit of time it represents.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,434 discloses the use of a single hand which rotates at one revolution per every twelve hours about a periphery point, and a face which rotates at one revolution per hour about its center. Time is indicated by the relative direction of the hand with respect to a first reference point and simultaneously, the relative position of the periphery point about the center point with respect to a second reference point, all of which renders it complicated and confusing to read.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,134,596 discloses a single-hand timepiece with a rotation rate of one revolution per every twelve hours. The face of the timepiece displays an inner ring which is numbered to indicate hours, and an outer ring provided with indicia to indicate minutes on the hour as the hand rotates about the face. While allowing for accurate determination of time, this invention requires excessive use of indicia on its face denying it a sophisticated appearance.
The prior art therefore lacks a single-handed timepiece which embodies the simplicity and fidelity of the typical two-hand configuration in an artistically pleasing manner. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a timepiece that functions in a manner which is easy to read, capable of accurate time indication, and aesthetically pleasing to the user.